Restaurant incident log UK

What belongs in an incident log, and what does not?

What happened, who was involved, what you did next, and who wrote it down. A cut in the kitchen, a guest slip, a broken glass in the pass, an allegation. The incident log is not the SFBB diary and not the fire alarm test record. Mixing them means the EHO and the insurer are reading the wrong book.

Write it the same day. A line added a week later, after a solicitor’s letter, is a different kind of document. Time, place in the building, first aid given or refused, and whether RIDDOR might apply. If you are unsure whether it is reportable, say you checked, and with whom. Do not guess the RIDDOR category in the log and leave it.

Names of guests: keep what you need for the claim. Do not paste a group booking list into an incident about one person. Staff names are part of the record because they were on duty.

• Facts you saw. Not a theory about whose fault it was.
• The action: first aid, area closed, equipment tagged off.
• The name on the line, the same day.
• A pointer if the same event also needs the fire log or the food diary. Do not duplicate a novel in three places.

ICO: UK GDPR guidance.

When do you write an incident down?

Write the incident the same day. A line added after a letter from a solicitor reads as a reconstruction, because it is one.

Write these on the line:

• Time.
• Where in the building.
• What you saw.
• What you did.
• Who wrote it.

A cut, a slip, a broken glass in food, an allegation about a member of staff. Do not use the incident log as the SFBB diary or the fire test record. The officer and the insurer will ask for the book that matches the event.

If you are not sure the event is reportable under RIDDOR, write that you checked and who you asked. Do not invent the category. The duty to report is on HSE: RIDDOR.

Guest names: keep the person involved, not the whole booking. Staff names stay, because they were on duty. First aid given or refused is part of the line. “Area closed” or “equipment tagged off” is the action.

A theory about fault can wait for the insurer. The log is the facts. Keep it for the period you are actually asked to keep employment and liability records, not forever by default. Log Book is the module for this. It is £3 a week per location, VAT included, after the trial. It is not the fire logbook.

A near miss is still a line if someone could have been hurt and the cause is still there: a loose step, a wet floor with no sign, a knife left in a sink. Write what you changed before the next service. If you changed nothing, write that too. A blank action is how the same incident happens again on a busier Saturday.